Dear Tim Kring

Dear Tim Kring,

I am writing you to thank you for stepping down and allowing me the opportunity to be become Heroes' show runner. I am very excited to do this, and I'm more than prepared to pour my heart and soul into this project that I believe can once again reach its peak. Thank you, and I'll say again that you are an inspiration to all of us, and a tremendous talent!

All the Best,

A View From My Couch!

(Below is an email I'd like you to forward to the creative staff involved in the show. Please do so without reading the following, as it is lengthy and would only bore you!)
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When the champagne dries from the celebration party, the work will begin! Tim Kring's reign is over! The man who didn't know who Magneto was when he set out is mercifully gone! To all you involved in Heroes, hello! Your salvation has arrived! Not only will I return this show to its season-one-let's-do-a-spinoff-everyone-talk-about-this-show glory, I will exceed it! Though it is very probable Mr. Bryan Fuller will be joining us, Eclipse Part 2 has just aired to lukewarm reception and word is Fuller will not be able to join us for quite some time. My plan is to gain momentum going into the hiatus, then follow up with a fantastic finish when we return. It's a mid-season "reboot" without actually rebooting.

This success will be done by following my "insta-fixes", a list of solutions/guide-lines the show will follow until danger has passed.

1. Character Trimming. -

• Fixing of Hayden Panettiere situation. She has to be removed from the show (which could be difficult considering her abilities). I want to suggest her storyline needs fixing, because the viewers need their Heroes hotty, but she has gone past the point of no return. Your attempts to turn her into some badass has been an epic failure, and the scenes that are meant to be touching between Noah and her are fallen very short. This is unfortunate, considering Noah and Sandra are very good characters, and her disappearance would likely have to make Noah into a vengeful man and reduce Sandra to the weeping mum. This is a tricky situation that must be handled delicately, but this brief outline will hopefully help.
• Meredith's death. For serious. She doesn't do much for the show, and though that little escapade with the puppeteer was enjoyable, it isn't enough to keep her around. Alright, my writing friends? Get rid of her, pronto. (Flint, too. I don't think that needs an explanation)
  
• Matt and Daphne, gone. I don't know what you writers were thinking (and quite frankly your jobs could be in jeopardy). This is a relationship that has been developed even less than the preposterous Elle and Sylar bogus. Though we finally got an answer as to how Arthur could threaten her with "returning her to how she was" the rest of it was weak. What was meant to be an emotional scene when she hugged her dead was useless, because we're not emotionally attached, at all. Daphne has really restricted Matt, and unless he can be worked in (a new sort of Matt who uses those powers he came into in the end of the second season, a lot) in a positive way, he needs to get the boot as well.
• Assuming Arthur is dunzo by the end of this volume (fill me in with your reply) he definitely needs to go, as does Angela. I'm thinking maybe she kills Daphne, then Matt kills her with crazy mind powers? I'm just spitballing. Point is, she's gone.
• In a final act of trimming, the beautiful Maya must go. Mohinder abused her and tormented her, and she's still interested? Not a chance. Get rid of her. Just don't tell her I said to...because she's fairly attractive.
• Further removals. To make room for the new characters coming in with the Fugitives story arc, Tracy's tale with the doctor needs to be concluded quickly, and she needs to be killed or in some way removed. Monica (I hope the writers remember her?) has been cast for Duality, an upcoming episode, and her power and character are fairly interesting. I don't want her trimmed, but if she returns, it should be in small segments, and put her with Micah (unless he's off doing something important, I could see him making one or two jaunts of importance).
  
• That, by my count, would leave us with Nathan, Peter, the Haitian, Hiro, Ando, Noah, Mohinder and Sylar as main characters. This is excluding the Hunter and other characters that will enter during the Fugitives story arc. And, unless Mohinder can be quickly cured of his problems, he probably needs to go to. (I've just noticed that my condensed character list is lacking in females. Noah, Mohinder and the Haitian's futures don't look like they extend an awful distance. They could be replaced down the road by female-types.)

2. Ando and Hiro. First off, Ando needs his powers, and soon. James Kyson Lee has had to be on a show where everyone has powers, except for him, for too long. On top of adding to one of the better characters on the show, this would make the Ando and Hiro team-up much more excellent (the ten-year old thing has to be shedded, by the way). And it's time to start giving these two serious plot lines, instead of a silly "nemesis" like Daphne. Keep it comic (no pun intended) but give them something important to work with.

3. Upgrading the Haitian. This character's potential has barely been scratched. His powers are very intriguing, and by removing Angela, it'll give this character some much needed breathing space. Though I'm not asking you to make him a front and center character, he needs to be in the show more, and be made more important.

4. The Nathan and Peter showdown. I know it's coming. We've all seen it in the future episode synopses and that little scene in the jungle. It's the practical Senator versus the emotional hero. There's a lot of potential there, and I'm excited to see how that plays out. It's right in here that I could see Claire sticking around, if you guys wouldn't mind giving her good lines. She could slowly become the badass you desperately want her to be, and join Nathan's side against Peter. (I don't know how much of the rivalry we can take though. Every time I've gone to write Nathan's name in this Section 4, I've almost written Arthur. The similarites are there. Don't stretch this one out.)

5. The better and more anticipated Sylar versus Peter. This needs to come. In the upcoming episodes, Sylar needs to get more powers, the old fashioned way (forget his empathic mimcry thing, people are used to him cutting open heads) and perhaps up the pyscho factor with him. As well, Petey and Sylar need a legit battle. I'm talking an epic battle that people are discussing around the water cooler.

6. Acting. Or bad acting. The latter is something this show is plagued with. I'm instituing a rule, it shall be called Law E.M.M.Y. No actor will be cast if their acting abilities are equal to or less than that of a cardboard box.

7. Character flip-flopping. Enough of it. A character's character will henceforth not change in a matter of minutes. That is ludicrous, and has bogged down the great character that is Sylar.

8. Shortening seasons, a la Lost. They did it with that dynamite show over on ABC, it's time for us to shorten the seasons to ensure every episode is worth something.

9. Ted Sprague Effect. Simply put, moral situations like Ted's need to be done a few more times. That was a brilliant idea, with great implications. So many conflicts there, something of this nature (but not so blindingly obvious that everyone from Japan to Ottawa is saying "hey...they've done something like this before) must be done again.

For know, those are the resolutions I'm putting in place. With the shortened cast, Bryan Fuller (who made that exceptional "Company Man" episode, which focused in on one character, and was very action-packed) should be able to do wonders. And if you other writers can't, I'll be handing out pink slips. Another bonus of the condensed cast will be bringing in interesting characters for short periods of time (see #9).

Well that's all for now! I believe with these ideas in mind, this show will be back to top gear in no time!

Get to work!

A View From My Couch